EDITOR WES RAYNAL: I think I'd go with the regular Carrera. This 2012 Porsche Carrera S seems a bit too stiff to me. Is that blasphemy? Maybe. Still, I think I'd save the money and learn to live with the 50 less hp and a slightly slower 60-mph time but get a better ride in return.

With that said, I hear all the carping about how the new one is “so big” and “feels like a Panamera” (not that that's a bad thing). Personally, I like the way the new car looks and drives. It might be bigger—most noticeable in the front in my opinion, but the rear overhang looks shorter to me, and I think the new shape works. I also appreciate the bigger cockpit. Park it next to an old one and you can really see the size difference.

All the rest of the 911 stuff is there: near perfect steering, right-now acceleration, the flat-six's bark—I love it all. Always have, and contrary to what someone told me, this car doesn't diminish my 911 lust. Yes, the new car might be bigger and more refined, but it still drives like a 911, which is a unique experience—you still feel every pebble on the road. I'd go with the dual-clutch transmission, too. It shifts faster than I can, and I like fiddling with the paddles, which are now real paddles instead of those awful push/pull buttons that Porsche used to have on its steering wheels.

Cabin quality looks way up to me, though some might beef that now it's too much like the Panamera. Personally, I liked it.

Probably my biggest complaint is the stop/start, which is anything but smooth and subtle, but you can switch it off with the touch of a button.

Overall, I like it a lot. It's faster and more refined. What's not to like?

Coincidentally, this is the same question one of my friends, a local Porsche dealer, posited after I'd driven the type 991 for about 30 minutes. He proceeded to give me the “you are a complete jackass” look as I listed off my gripes, and you might agree with him. But for the record, my answers:

1. Indeed, the car is noticeably larger. I parked it next to a friend's 996—itself much bigger than the beloved 993 that marked the last of the real “first-gen” 911s—and the new car dwarfs it. Photos and spec sheets don't do nearly as good of a job conveying this growth as simply parking next to its ancestors does. I also parked it next to a Cayman, and it's stunning to see the difference in mass, in real life, right in front of you. If you thought the 996 and 997 had stretched a 911s proportions to the maximum, the 991 has other news for you. This will bother traditionalists but probably not register with your orthodontist or attorney who simply buys such a car “because he can.”

Thankfully, the 991 is actually lighter than the old 997, but it does “feel” larger, though, not only due to the two-inch longer wheelbase and four-inch increase in overall length but also thanks to the Panameraesque interior. The luxu-cruiser cockpit is on one hand a big step-up for 911 accommodations, yet simultaneously disconcerting in that the car now feels like a full-on GT machine rather than a pure sports car. It's up to you whether you do or do not approve of this evolution, but the change has occurred, and there is no way to ignore it.

2. The exterior possesses some features that don't necessarily show well in photographs, but they are there—and I'm not a fan. For starters, the bulging headlight covers remind me of the old Toyota MR2 Sypder every time I look at them. This is not what I want a 911 to bring to mind, even though I realize that Toyota ripped off the Boxster's styling when it penned the MR2. It's just that the protruding lenses are one of the interpretations Toyota imbued the MR2 with that always seemed tacky to me, so to see that same element circle back around to an actual Porsche is bizarre.

The roofline's reduced angle gives the 991 a hint of Panamera, which is odd when you remember that the Panamera was designed to recall the 911. I felt like I was standing at the intersection of Which St. and Came First Rd. when viewing the overall shape from the front and rear three-quarter angles. It's just a less aggressive look overall, and it disappoints me. I don't want any hint of the polarizing Panamera in my 911, thank you. As part of this new design, the C-pillar and the way in which the side window sits below it leave an awful lot of sheetmetal between the two; the roofline's rake no longer matches the window's arc, eliminating much of the fastback profile. The whole appearance seems “softer” as a result.

Another thing that caught my eye is how high the rear deck extends upward, and how much shorter the rear glass is now. Again, an odd proportion to my traditionalist eyes—and one I did not pick up on immediately. Once I put my finger on it, I realized what had been bothering me about the rear end when looking at it from directly behind.

3. Ahhh, the electromechanical steering. Check out a Porsche forum online and this is at the top of the inquiries and discussion topics by Porschephiles when it comes to this car. No, it's not a hindrance to placing the Carrera S accurately wherever you want it, but, indeed, the classic Porsche feel is gone. After all, it was the feel that was always a significant part of the Porsche driving experience, and losing it is certainly nothing to applaud. Despite what Porsche marketing might say, it's pretty hard for me to ignore the fact the change to this system was driven massively by EPA mileage standards rather than making a better sports car. I understand the real world Porsche must play in, but I don't like how it has forced this change. Did the old steering help you go any faster? Probably not, and on race tracks, I have no doubt this new car and steering will be gobsmackingly good. On the street, however, if everything becomes a bit more comfortable, a bit more numb, a bit larger in every dimension . . . well, I can find that in a lot of six-figure (and way less) cars. Sometimes the overall experience is more important than outright performance numbers on a telemetry readout. Don't get me wrong, this is still the car I would choose in the six-figure sporty class (unless I was moving way up the mountain to a Ferrari 458), but I just don't feel as good about the car as I did before. It doesn't give me the same feeling, as if it's lost an edge throughout.

Put those issues aside and there is still a world-class level of quality goodness here. The optional sport exhaust is worth every bit of its $3,000; this is the best sounding 911 to come from the factory not bearing a GT3 badge—and it might be even better than one of those track-oriented cars. It helps that Porsche routes some of the sound directly into the cabin, and every lift of the gas pedal—even at sedate cruising speeds when you run the car in sport mode—produces the sort of trailing throttle burbling and cracking reserved usually for GT-class race cars. I don't imagine anyone who buys a 991 with this feature will ever find themselves shopping for an aftermarket exhaust kit. This is a fantastic piece of must-have equipment.

I have to disagree with Raynal about the suspension. (Though he is right about the fuel-saving start/stop engine feature, which is far from smooth and seamless every time it refires; it's quite annoying because of this.) This version of PASM delivers a noticeably large improvement over its predecessor. Even running the car in sport-plus mode and with the suspension in its stiffest setting, it delivers a sublime example of class-leading damping. I aimed purposely at small potholes, bumps, expansion joints and every other road flaw, and my goodness it impresses you with the way the suspension gobbles it all up, swallows it and asks for another helping, with no signs of indigestion. A 911 set to its sportiest modes and running on 20-inch ultra-low-profile tires should not be this comfortable. Where previous versions exhibited relatively high levels of impact harshness and tire “whoomp” on even small bumps, this one is comfortable under almost all conditions, while simultaneously providing more grip and reduced body-roll in corners. In that sense, the 991 is a massive improvement in terms of usability under all conditions, from the laziest of cruising to the hardest of enthusiast driving. A+++ on this front, Porsche.

Other noticeable improvements are the speed and “positiveness” of the PDK gearbox's shifts. I was able to conduct a back-to-back of the PDK in our test car with the previous generation in another Porsche, and the difference is exceptional. Where the old software provided almost lazy shifts that felt delayed by a half-second from the time you flicked a paddle to the time the transmission responded, the new program bangs up and down the gears as soon as you command it to. Buyers who move from a 997 with PDK to this car will be thrilled with the improved shift speed.

You can pick apart a new Porsche for hours, but, in my view, all of the points above—both negative and positive—are the main keys to deciding whether the newest Carrera is what you want out of a 911. I'm still not sure it is, no mater how much of an engineering masterpiece Porsche has undoubtedly created. If you're any kind of 911 or sports-car traditionalist who wants a small(ish), simple and pure driving experience, you might want to ask yourself the same question I keep mumbling:

Where's that new Cayman?

ROAD TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: I'm not going to question if the 991 is a better performance car than the outgoing 997 when you compare them on paper. I'm sure it's faster than the old car around the Nurburgring and a bunch of other tracks where Porsche developed the car, but there's something missing. It's not the looks, because it looks like a 911 and it makes all the right noises, especially with the optional sport-exhaust system.

My biggest gripe is the electromechanical steering, which doesn't possess the feedback that I've come to expect from a 911. In fact, the steering is one of my favorite things about a Porsche—at least it used to be. The information that you used to get through your fingertips is something that I'll miss. That's not to say that it doesn't work, because it certainly does. The car turns in almost instantly when you crank the wheel, and the suspension stiffens up; there's huge grip available.

I have to echo Morrison's comments about the amazing ride quality on the low-profile Pirelli tires, even with the suspension in sport plus. With previous versions with Bridgestone Potenza tires, sport plus was downright brutal. Credit the new level of refinement to the suspension.

Speaking of refinement, the cabin is a much nicer place to be and follows in the footsteps of the Panamera, with the sloping center console and more stylish door panels. All materials look and feel great, and, in typical Porsche form, the seats are comfortable, offering plenty of lateral support.

While the nicer interior and improved ride quality are noteworthy, there's still a big part of me that wishes the 911 was a bit cruder. Can a cabin be too nice? Can the ride be too buttoned-up? When it comes to sports car, I think they can be—especially in a car like the 911, having such a long history to live up to and many loyal followers. I understand that Porsche is trying to appeal to a large group of people, which has brought on the 911's growth spurt and plusher accommodations. And then there are environmental factors that have made all carmakers institute things like electric power steering.

There's no denying that the 991 is a stellar car. It's still a lot of fun to wheel around on your favorite chunk of winding road, the boxer six-cylinder howling as it provides good power, the ZF dual-clutch transmission getting even better with slick and quick up- and downshifts. The rev-matching during downshifts is impeccable.

The 911 remains a performance benchmark, but how it goes about achieving its high level of performance is different and has changed the experience for the driver behind the wheel. After a late-night drive, I got out after having a good time, but I kept thinking back to our 2005 long-term Carrera S and other 997 Carrera S models that have come through the office since then. For some reason, my memory has drives in those cars being so much richer and involving compared to the new car. Maybe my feelings change with more seat time in the 991, but at this juncture I still think the new car is missing something.